ment from 2 years to 10 years. In some cases, both fine and imprisonment are demanded, and in others, either fine or imprisonment or both may be imposed. Experience has demonstrated that substantial penal provisions in this field are necessary. Criminal racketeering in naturalization matters on a large scale is even now being vigorously prosecuted by a Special Assistant to the Attorney General at the request of and upon evidence furnished by the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization. A few Government employees are involved.

Subsection (a) of proposed section 345 covers not only an alien applicant who violates its provisions but any aider or abettor as well, whether alien or citizen, in addition to any Government employee who proves faithless to his trust. The various provisions included within this subsection follow generally the description of the offenses found in the present law (see especially secs. 74 to 80, inclusive, Federal Criminal Code of March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1102-1103; U. S. C., title 18, secs. 135 and 137 to 142, inclusive; sec. 23, act of June 29, 1906, 34 Stat. 603; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 414). They have been brought together and coordinated, however.

(b) The provisions of this section shall apply to copies and duplicates of certificates of arrival, of declarations of intention, of certificates of naturalization, of certificates of citizenship, and of other documents required or authorized by the naturalization laws and citizenship laws as well as to the originals of such certificates of arrival, declarations of intention, certificates of naturalization, certificates of citizenship, and other documents, whether issued by any court or by the Commissioner or a Deputy Commissioner.

Proposed subsection (b) is designed to overcome any technical claim which a defendant may make that the copy of a naturalization document, even though it serves the same purpose as an original, will not support a criminal prosecution where a criminal offense would clearly be conceded in the case of the original of such document. Such a provision is necessary because the law authorizes the Issuance of copies of naturalization and citizenship documents in many cases, Including those in which the original has been lost, mutilated, or destroyed.

(c) The provisions of this section shall apply to all proceedings had or taken or attempted to be had or taken, before any court specified in subsection (a) of section 301, or any court, in which proceedings for naturalization may have been or may be commenced or attempted to be commenced, and whether or not such court at the time such proceedings were had or taken was vested by law with jurisdiction in naturalization proceedings. Questions have arisen both prior to the Naturalization Act of 1906 and since, as to whether particular courts have possessed naturalization jurisdiction. (See the large number of cases involving this point prior to 1906, discussed in Report to the Secretary of State on the Subject of Citizenship, Expatriation, and Protection Abroad, Document No. 326, House of Representatives, 59th Cong., 2d sess., December 18, 1906, appendix I, pp. 88-95; see also, since 1906, Allen v. United States (Circuit Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, 1931), 47 F. (2d) 735, in which the naturalization jurisdiction of the District Court of the Virgin Islands of the United States was questioned.)

Criminal acts relating to naturalization and citizenship are, as a rule, equally reprehensible and injurious to society whether the particular courts from which fraudulent documents are procured or from which they purport to have been issued technically have or do not have naturalization jurisdiction. Proposed subsection (c) follows the present law (sec. 81, Federal Criminal Code, March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1103; U. S. C., title 18, sec. 143).

(d) Any person violating subsection (a) of this section shall be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

It is believed that the degree of punishment is less important than its certainty. Frequently courts will refuse to impose sentences which appear to be extreme or will suspend such sentences. While there can be no determination with exactitude of the precise punishment, whether fine or imprisonment, or both, which will strike a balance of fairness as between the defendant and the Government, a flexible penalty, sufficiently severe in aggravated cases and yet allowing for extenuating circumstances, would seem to be a desirable one. It is, therefore, proposed in section 345 (d) that the punishment for the violation of any of the crimes described in subsection (a) be a fine of not more than $5,000, or imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.

(e) Any person who has been subpenaed under the provisions of subsection (c) of section 309 to appear on the final hearing of a petition for naturalization, and who shall neglect or refuse to so appear and to testify, if in the power of such person to do so, shall be subject to the penalties prescribed by subsection (d) of this section.

Proposed subsection (e) gives the courts power to punish contumacy of an applicant's witnesses should they neglect to or refuse to appear and testify if within their power to do so. While the present law authorizes the petitioner for naturalization to arrange to subpena any witnesses who are necessary to his case, no penalty is provided for their disregard of the writ (sec. 13, act of June 29, 1906, 34 Stat. 600; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 402).

(f) If any person shall use the endorsement "Official Business" authorized by section 342 to avoid payment of postage or registry fee on a private letter, package, or other matter in the mail, such person shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to a fine of $300, to be prosecuted in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Proposed subsection (f) continues the present provision which punishes the fraudulent use of the mails under guise of forwarding official naturalization papers (sec. 1, act of October 6, 1917, 40 Stat. 376; U. S. C., title 39, sec. 324).

(g) No person shall be prosecuted, tried, or punished for any crime arising under the provisions of this chapter unless the indictment is found or the information is filed within five years next after the commission of such crime.

Proposed subsection (g) of this section fixes the statute of limitations at 5 years, which is the same as that contained in the Naturalization Act of 1906 (sec. 23, act of June 29, 1906, 34 Stat. 603; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 414). It has been the experience of naturalization officials and of United States attorneys that many of the most serious naturalization crimes have not been discovered until nearly 5 years have elapsed after their commission. The 3-year statute of limitations, applicable to criminal offenses generally, has been found in many cases to be insufficient (sec. 1044, R. S. U. S., as amended by act of December 27, 1927, 45 Stat. 51; U. S. C., title 18, sec. 582).

(h) For the purpose of the prosecution of all crimes and offenses against the naturalization or citizenship laws of the United States which may have been committed prior to the date when this chapter shall go into effect, the existing naturalization and citizenship laws shall remain in full force and effect.

Proposed subsection (h) is the usual saving clause permitting the prosecution of offenses committed prior to the date the proposed code shall go into effect. A similar provision was incorporated in the Ñaturalization Acts of 1906 and 1918 (sec. 25, act of June 29, 1906, 34 Stat. 603; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 416; sec. 2, act of May 9, 1918, 40 Stat. 547; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 416).

(i) It shall be lawful and admissible as evidence in any proceedings founded under this chapter, or any of the penal or criminal provisions of the naturalization or citizenship laws, for any officer or employee of the United States to render testimony as to any statement voluntarily made to such officer or employee in the course of the performance of the official duties of such officer or employee by any defendant at the time of or subsequent to the alleged commission of any crime or offense referred to in this section which may tend to show that such defendant did not or could not have had knowledge of any matter concerning which such defendant is shown to have made affidavit, or oath, or to have been a witness pursuant to such law or laws.

Proposed subsection (i) is a statutory rule of evidence which is very much needed in order to successfully prosecute admitted violations of the naturalization laws. Many cases have arisen in which a naturalized person will admit having procured naturalization fraudulently through the connivance and perjury of a professional racketeer who appears as one of the applicant's witnesses. The usual evidence in such cases consists of the admission of the facts by the naturalized person who is frequently a victim although guilty to a degree, and disclosures voluntarily made by the racketeer to a Government naturalization officer in the course of his official duties.

There has been difficulty in securing convictions in such cases because of the question of the weight to be given under the present law to the disclosures of the racketeer. (See United States v. Isaacson (Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, 1932), 59 F. (2d) 966.)

The suggested provision would, it is believed, provide a much needed strengthening of the criminal statutes in behalf of the Government.

(j) In case any clerk of court shall refuse or neglect to comply with the provisions of section 336 (a), (b), (c), (d), such clerk of court shall forfeit and pay to the United States the sum of $25 in each and every case in which such violation or omission occurs, and the amount of such forfeiture may be recovered by the United States in an action of debt against such clerk. Proposed subsection (j) provides for the forfeiture of a small sum of money for the refusal or neglect of the clerk of a naturalization court to perform the duties which are placed upon him by the proposed code. The provision is similar to that contained in the present naturalization law (sec. 12, act of June 29, 1906, 34 Stat. 599-600; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 400).

(k) If any clerk of court shall fail to return to the Service or properly account for any certificate of naturalization or citizenship furnished by the Service as provided in subsection (e) of section 336, such clerk of court shall be liable to the United States in the sum of $50, to be recovered in an action of debt, for each and every such certificate not properly accounted for or returned.

Proposed subsection (k) makes the clerk of court liable to the United States in a small amount in an action of debt should he fail to properly account for certificates of naturalization in his possession. This is also similar to the present statute (sec. 12, act of June 29, 1906, 34 Stat. 600; U. S. C., title 8, sec. 401).

(1) The provisions of subsections (a), (b), (d), (g), (h), and (i) of this section shall apply in respect of the application for and the record of registry authorized by section 327, in the same manner and to the same extent, including penalties, as they apply in any naturalization or citizenship proceeding or any other proceeding under section 345.

Proposed subsection (1), the last in section 345, makes the penal provisions of this section applicable to the registry of aliens for naturalization purposes. The present law penalizes criminal acts in relation to registry proceedings (sec. 1 (c), act of March 2, 1929, 45 Stat. 1513; U. S. C., title 18, sec. 106a; sec. 76, Federal Criminal Code of March 4, 1909, 35 Stat. 1102, U. S. C., title 18, sec. 138).

Sec. 346.

SAVING-CLAUSE

(a) Nothing contained in either chapter III or in chapter V of this act, unless otherwise provided therein, shall be construed to affect the validity of any declaration of intention, petition for naturalization, certificate of naturalization or of citizenship, or other document or proceeding which shall be valid at the time this act shall take effect; or to affect any prosecution, suit, action, or proceedings, civil or criminal, brought, or any act, thing, or matter, civil or criminal, done or existing, at the time this act shall take effect; but as to all such prosecutions, suits, actions, proceedings, acts, things, or matters, the statutes or parts of statutes repealed by this act, are hereby continued in force and effect.

(b) Any petition for naturalization heretofore filed which may be pending at the time this chapter shall take effect shall be heard and determined within two years thereafter in accordance with the requirements of law in effect when such petition was filed.

Proposed section 346 contains the customary clauses by which the status quo is maintained in relation to naturalization proceedings and other related matters pending at the time the proposed code becomes effective.

Under proposed subsection (b) a period of 2 years would be granted during which any petition for naturalization filed prior to the enactment of the new measure might be heard under the law in effect when the proceeding was begun. This period of time is not regarded as unreasonable in view of the fact that in many naturalization courts but few naturalization hearings are held, as infrequently as once a year in some localities.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE NATURALIZATION LAWS The principal changes in the naturalization laws of the United States which have been included in proposed chapter III, Nationality Through Naturalization, relate to the following matters:

GENERAL OBJECTS

1. Consolidation and rearrangement of the naturalization laws into orderly and systematic form, comprehended within a single chapter.

2. Grouping together of substantive provisions, procedural and administrative provisions, fiscal provisions, and penal provisions.

3. Elimination, as far as practicable, of discriminatory provisions.

4. Omission, by repeal, of obsolete, conflicting, unnecessary, and undesirable provisions.

5. Removal, as far as possible, of causes for differing opinions on the part of the naturalization courts in the construction of the naturalization laws, thereby more nearly approximating the required constitutional uniformity.

6. Inclusion of salutary provisions for the more prompt, expeditious, economical, and satisfactory administration of the naturalization laws.

SPECIFIC CHANGES

1. Substitution of requirement of 6 months' residence in the State in which the petition is filed, immediately prior to such filing, for present 6 months' county residence (sec. 308 (a)).

2. Recognition as residence within the United States for naturalization purposes of honorable service on Government vessels of the United States, United States merchant vessels, and residence in the Panama Canal Zone (sec. 307 (d)). 3. Permitting the substitution of competent for incompetent witnesses to petitions for naturalization in cases where the petitioner has acted in good faith, thus avoiding the delay and expense of filing a new petition, paying an additional fee, and waiting for a subsequent hearing (sec. 308 (d)).

4. Reducing the period of required residence in the United States from 3 to 2 years of a person married to a citizen of the United States (sec. 310).

5. Provision for the expeditious naturalization in the United States of an alien whose spouse is in the employ of the Government of the United States regularly stationed abroad (sec. 311).

6. Recognition of the principle that both parents of a child, if living and undivorced, should be citizens in order that the alien child may derive citizenship through their status (sec. 312).

7. Reduction from 21 to 18 years of the age at which the minor child ceases to acquire citizenship through the naturalization of the parents (secs. 312, 313). 8. Elimination of the general requirement that the minor child, in order to acquire citizenship through the parents, must have resided in the United States at least 5 years during its minority (secs. 312, 313).

9. Provision in certain cases by which petitions for naturalization may be filed on behalf of minor children by a parent or guardian (secs. 314, 315, 318 (a)). 10. Provision for the naturalization of an adopted child under the age of 18 years upon the petition of the adoptive parent or parents (sec. 315).

11. Provision for the naturalization, with exemptions, of former citizens of the United States who lost their citizenship through the expatriation of a parent or parents abroad (sec. 317).

12. Provision for the naturalization, under exemptions, of children who, as minors, lost whatever status of citizenship they may have possessed through the parent's naturalization when the parent's naturalization was canceled on grounds other than actual fraud (sec. 318).

13. Provision that certain Puerto Ricans who have not heretofore exercised the privilege of becoming citizens of the United States may do so without limitation of time (sec. 321).

14. Uniform provisions under which persons serving honorably for at least 3 years, whether a single term of service or an aggregate of several terms, in the United States Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, or on Government or private vessels of the United States, may be naturalized under certain exemptions, with acceptance of certified copies of records of service from appropriate executive departments or masters of such vessels in lieu of the usual affidavits and testimony of witnesses (secs. 323, 324).

15. Authority for prescribing a uniform type of examination of petitioners for naturalization to determine their qualifications as a basis for appropriate recommendations to the naturalization courts (sec. 326 (b)).

16. Provision for having depositions in naturalization cases taken without charge before a postmaster, or before a notary public or other person authorized to administer oaths for general purposes, where unusual delay or hardship would be caused if required to be taken before naturalization examiners (sec. 326 (e)). 17. Extension of the authority, already granted in New York City, to use quarters in Government buildings for photographic studios to be operated by welfare organizations, without profit, solely for the benefit of aliens seeking naturalization as a means of eliminating exploitation of aliens (sec. 326 (h)). 18. Modification of the provision for the registry of aliens in whose cases there are no records of admission for permanent residence, by requiring continuous residence in the United States from a date prior to July 1, 1924, instead of June 3, 1921 (sec. 327 (b)).

19. Elimination of the requirement that a declaration of intention to become a citizen must be used within 7 years as the basis for a petition for naturalization (sec. 330).

20. Designation by the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization of members of the Immigration and Naturalization Service to conduct preliminary hearings and make recommendations to the naturalization courts upon petitions for naturalization (sec. 332 (a)).

21. Extension to the State naturalization courts of the present practice in United States district courts by which designated members of the Immigration and Naturalization Service conduct preliminary hearings and make recommendations to the courts upon petitions for naturalization (sec. 332 (a)).

22. Reduction of the period between the filing of a petition for naturalization and the final hearing thereon and the issuance of a naturalization certificate from 90 days to 30 days, and increase of the period immediately preceding general elections during which naturalization is prohibited, from 30 days to 60 days (sec. 333 (c)).

23. Waiver of the taking of the oath of allegiance by children if the naturalization court believes them incapable of understanding its meaning (sec. 334 (a)).

24. Inclusion in the body of the naturalization law itself of the text of the oath of allegiance to the United States to be taken by the naturalized person (sec. 334 (b)).

25. Revocation of naturalization by judicial proceedings for conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude committed within 5 years after admission to citizenship (sec. 337 (d)).

26. Addition to the class of persons now eligible to receive certificates of derivative citizenship (children who derived citizenship through their parents, and alien women marrying alien husbands who later became naturalized) of women who acquired such citizenship through marriage to husbands who were citizens, either by birth or through naturalization, at the time of marriage (sec. 338).

27. Cancellation by the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, after due notice of naturalization documents procured from the Commissioner illegally or fraudulently. (Such cancellation would not affect the citizenship status of the individual) (sec. 339).

28. Surrender to the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization of naturalization documents which have been lost, and later have been found after copies in lieu thereof have been issued (sec. 340 (b)).

29. Authorization for the issuance of a special certificate of naturalization for the purpose of obtaining recognition as a citizen of the United States by any foreign state, being an enlargement of the present provision which limits such certificates of recognition to countries of former allegiance (sec. 340 (c)).

30. Change of fee for registration of an alien from $10 to $18, representing the equivalent of the cost of an immigration visa and immigration head tax (sec. 341 (b) (1)).

31. Authorization of reasonable fees (with maximum fixed), where not established by law, for furnishing, other than to officials or agencies of the Federal Government, copies of or information from the records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (sec. 341 (b) (9)).

32. Requirement that canceled certificates of naturalization or of citizenship be surrendered to the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization on penalty of prosecution (sec. 345 (a) (31)).